Plate-glass door construction



June 19, 1951 L. M. SANDERS 2,557,568

PLATE GLASS Doop. CONSTRUCTION Filed April 21, 1945 Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE PLATE-GLASS DOOR CONSTRUCTION Lewis M. Sanders, Chicago, Ill. Application April 21, 1945, Serial No. 589,525

(Cl. ISB- 46) 4 Claims. l

This invention relates to improvements in door construction and is more particularly concerned with improvements in plate glass door constructions and mountings for same adapted for use with store fronts, commercial buildings, exterior doors and the like. One of the objects of this invention is to provide a door construction for store fronts and the like in which a plate glass panel is supported within top, bottom and side rails of relatively narrow width., and in which the frame for the door is relatively narrow in Width and having the major portion thereof disposed to serve as an abutment wall along and coextensive in width to the side of said rails to provide maximum visibility through a store front to the interior of the building. Y

It is a further object of this invention to provide a door construction which permits the use of a relatively transparent door panel formed of plate glass. It has heretofore been the practice to employ a laminated glass panel for use in doors of this type, therefore a substantial saving is effected by use of ordinary plate glass in place of laminated glass due to the difference in cost of same. The present invention further contemplates the provision of a door construction to facilitate mounting or replacement of a plate glass panel from plate glass of the type usually supplied to dealers and carried as a stock item. The use of a plate glass panel door construction embodies another advantage over the use of laminated plate glass in that the panel may readily be broken to provide an unobstructed exit in the event of nre within the building.

The plate glass panel door construction oi the present invention also lpermits concealment of the usual foil circuit strip employed for connection in a circuit to a burglar alarm device. This is accomplished by disposing the circuit foil strip adjacent the outer periphery of the glass panel for concealment by a molding strip. In the use of shatter-proof laminated plate glass, the circuit strip of foil must be mounted near the center of the panel to insure breakage of same to interrupt the electrical circuit to the alarm device, and presents an unsightly and objectionable appearance.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a door construction which will not be subjected to swelling, sagging, binding and warping due to settlement of the' building or parts thereof, or by weather conditions.

Another important feature of this invention is to provide a door construction which permits the use of standard construction materials and hard- Ware, such as hinges, locks, handles, etc., and,` if

desired, the door and door frame may be assembled at the factory for delivery as a complete unit for installation in a building without the use of skilled labor.

This invention further contemplates the provision of a door frame construction which is adapted to be connected 0r joined to adjacent window panels disposed at various angles thereto. In this connection it is contemplated that the adjacent plate glass windows will be mounted in standard moldings which may be adjustably secured at any desired angle with respect to the door frame.

This invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevational view showing a door construction embodying features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, a preferred form f of door construction embodying features of this invention is illustrated as comprising a door 6, a door frame l, and a threshold or anchor plate 8. The door 5 comprises a pair of side rails 9 and I0, a top rail I I and a bottom rail I 2, which rails are preferably formed of hollow metallic members welded to each other at their ends to forma rigid integral rail frame I5 of preferably square or rectangular cross section to receive a plate glass panel I3. The plate glass panel I3 is detachably mounted within the rail frame I5 by means of the usual molding strips It and IB held in position by means of screws I1.

Prior to mounting the plate glass panel Within the rail frame I5, a strip i8 of electrical conducting foil may be cemented to the side of the plate glass panel to extend substantially throughout its periphery adjacent the face of the molding strip I4. The conducting strip I8 is thus concealed from View and any breakage of the plate 'glass panel I3 will result in breakage of the metal foil I8 and thus interrupt an electric circuit to an alarm device of the usual type (not shown).

The door frame l preferably comprises side posts 2I and 22. having their upper ends detachably secured or welded to the ends of a top transverse frame member 23. The lower ends of the posts 2 I and 22 are detachably secured to thresh-r old and anchor plate 2li by means of screws 25. The posts 2| and 22 and transverse member 23 are preferably formed of metal and either rolled or extruded to form a relatively narrow frame portion 21 to enclose the outer periphery of the door rails S, l and H. An abutment wall 28 is also formed on posts 2E 22, and transverse member 23 and extends inwardly at right angles to the frame portion 2l to terminate adjacent the inner periphery of the rail frame I5. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the post portion 21 of the door frame I also preferably extends throughout the thickness o the door rails to terminate flush therewith to present a smooth exterior nnish. The frame is thus provided with a jamb face 29 and an abutment wall iace 3i arranged in the form of legs of a right angle triangle to enclose two sides of the door rails. The face 3! of the abutment wall portion of the door frame l is provided with a recess 32 to receive a suitable weather strip and resilient door stop member 33 which may be formed of rubber, felt or other resilient insulating material adapted to absorb shock during closing of the door and to serve as the weather strip between the rail frame i and the door frame 1.

The door S is pivotally supported within the dooi` frame 'l by means of suitable hinges 313 connected to and between the post portions 21 of the frame 'l and the door rail 9. Suitable Push or pull plates 3B are adapted to be secured to the sides of door rail IG, and a barrel lock 3l' may be mounted in the bottom rail I2 for actuating a bolt (not shown) for engagement in a bolt aperture (not shown) formed in the threshold 8.

The door frame l is provided with an outer arcuate surface 38 for line engagement with a molding strip 3S of the type usually employed for mounting plate glass windows lll. By providing an arcuate surface on the frame, it will be observed that the molding 3S may be radially disposed and secured at any position throughout the arcuate surface to adapt the door frame 'l for use with plate glass windows disposed at various angles with respect to the door. The molding 39 is secured to the frame 'i by means of the usual screws 42. The threshold S is adapted to be held against displacement by means of suitable screws or bolts 63 anchored to concrete or the frame- Work of a building.

While this invention has been shown in but one form, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of vari- Ail) ous changes and modications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a metal door having top, bottom and side rails secured together and dening an opening for the reception of a transparent panel, of a rigid metal frame for said door comprisingr a pair of side post members of L- shape in cross section, a top transverse member, and a bottom transverse member, the inner surface of each side post member dening an abutment wall and a j amb Wall which are coextensive in width to the width and thickness respectively of the adjacent side rail, the outer transverse surface of at least one of said side post members having a radius of curvature the axis of which is located within the periphery of the adjacent side rail when the door is in closed position, and post-engaging means having an engaging surface substantially complementary to the outer arcuate surface of a side post member for engagement with a predetermined portion of the arcuate surface of said post member.

2. The combination with a metal door having top, bottom and side rails secured together and defining an opening for the reception of a transparent panel, of a rigid metal frame for said door comprising a pair of side post members of L- shape in cross section, and a top transverse member of L-shape in cross section, the inner surface of said top transverse member and each side post member defining an abutment wall and a jamb wall which are coextensive in width to the width and thickness respectively of the adjacent side rails, the outer transverse surface of at least one of said side post members having a radius of curvature the axis of which is located within the periphery of the adjacent side rail when the door is in closed position, and post-engaging means having an engaging surface substantially complementary to the outer arcuate surface of a side post member for engagement with a predetermined portion of the arcuate surface of said post member.

3. The combination with a metal door having top, bottom and side rails secured together and defining an opening for the reception of a transparent panel, of a rigid metal frame for Said door comprising a pair of side post members of L- shape in cross section, and a top transverse member of L-shape in cross section, the inner surface of said top transverse member and each side post member defining an abutment wall and a jamb wall which are coextensive in width to the width and thickness respectively of the adjacent side rails, the outer transverse surface of at least one of said side post members having a radius of curvature the axis of which is located within the periphery of the adjacent side rail when the door is in closed position, and a frame engaging means secured to the outer surface of one of said side post members, and post-engaging means having an engaging surface substantially complementary to the outer arcuate surface of a side post member for engagement with a predetermined portion of the arcuate surface of said post member.

4. The combination with a metal door having top, bottom and side rails secured together and defining an opening for the reception of a transparent panel, of a rigid metal frame for said door comprising a pair of side post members of L- shape in cross section, and a top transverse member of L-shape in cross section, the inner surface of said top transverse member and each side post member defining an abutment wall and a jamb wail which are coextensive in width to the width and thickness respectively of the adjacent side rails, the outer transverse surface of at least one of side post members being curvilinear, said curvilinear surface spanning an arc of over and post-engaging` means having an engaging surface substantially complementary to the outer curvilinear surface of a side post member for engagement with a predetermined portion of the curvilineai1 surface of said post member.

LEWIS M. SANDERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 429,796 Rieiel June 10, 1890 1,229,293 Klingensmith June 12, 1917 1,919,392 Reinhardt July 25, 1933 

